Deeper than headlines

I believe strongly that empathy only comes from knowing other people's stories. Many readers of this blog live outside of Central America and do not have many opportunities to learn first hand about why someone might think trying to cross the border into Trump's America is better than what they are living at home.

That's why long form journalism is so important which looks deeply at personal stories and root causes. I want to recommend a few pieces I came across this week.

Alice Driver wrote The Road to Asylum which was published on Longreads.com in June of 2018. Driver accompanies a trans woman from El Salvador who leaves the country to seek asylum in the US. She opens a window for us into the lives of terrible discrimination and violence suffered by the trans community in El Salvador.

Kevin Sullivan and Maya Averbuch, wrote Finding a way to America in the Washington Post, which follows one family's journey in the migrant caravan which made headlines earlier in 2018. The journey starts in Honduras and ends in New York City, as the family awaits court dates on their asylum cases.

Finally, a great book to introduce people to migration from El Salvador is Lauren Markham's book The Faraway Brothers, the story of two twins who had to flee El Salvador and start lives anew in Oakland.